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Most-watched TV series finales

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Home Improvement — 35 million viewers tuned in to see if Wilson would come out from behind the fence when the show ended on May 25, 1999. Actor Tim Allen, one of the stars of the show, is seen here. Newscom/FILE

Family Ties — Alex P. Keaton closed his briefcase for the final time with 36.3 million viewers watching when the show ended on May 14, 1989. Here, Michael J. Fox and other cast members from Family Ties are seen in 2002 during NBC's 75th Anniversary Ceremonies at New York City's Rockefeller Center.UPI/Newscom/FILE

Everybody Loves Raymond — 32.9 million viewers showed their love for Raymond and his family by watching the final show on May 16, 2005. The cast is seen here at the 55th annual Emmy Award show in Los Angeles, Calif., in September 2003.Newscom/FILE

Dallas — 33.3 million viewers bid goodbye to the Ewing clan when the show ended on May 3, 1991. Actor Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing in the show, is seen handing out fake $100 bills with his face on them in June 1980 at a train station. Newscom/FILE

All in the Family — 40.2 million viewers saw Archie’s true heart when the show ended on April 8, 1979. The cast of All the Family poses in this undated photo.Newscom/FILE

The Cosby Show—44.4 million viewers saw the 'fourth wall' broken between the studio audience when the show ended on April 30, 1992. Here, Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad star as Dr. Cliff and Clair Huxtable in a scene from the show in 1984. Newscom/FILE

Tonight Show with Johnny Carson — The NBC show drew 41.4 million viewers when Carson left the host’s chair on May 22, 1992, after 30 years. Carson is seen here with actor Robin Williams in 1985.Newscom/FILE

Magnum P.I. — 50.6 million viewers said 'aloha' to the mustachioed detective when the show ended on May 1, 1988. Actor Tom Selleck is seen on location for the filming of Magnum P.I. in Hawaii in June 1981.Newscom/FILE

Friends — 52.5 million viewers closed the door on the impossibly fabulous Manhattan apartments of these friends when the show ended on May 6, 2004. The cast of Friends is seen on a billboard promoting the series finale in Burbank, Calif., in May 2004.Fred Prouser/Reuters/FILE

Seinfeld — The official verdict on this series was watched by 76.3 million viewers when it ended on May 14, 1998. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as Elaine, and Jerry Seinfeld are seen here in a scene from the show in 1990.Newscom/FILE

Cheers — 80.4 million viewers bid goodbye to the Boston bar on May 20, 1993. Actor Ted Danson, a star of the show, is seen here in 1982.Newscom/FILE

M*A*S*H—105.6 million viewers said goodbye to Hawkeye and the rest of the docs in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital when the show ended on February 28. 1983. Cast members from M*A*S*H are seen in this 1972 photo. Newscom/FILE

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'Dallas,' a continuation of the saga of the oil-rich Ewings, has an almost perfect cast.

ByRichard M. Simms, The TV AddictJune 13, 2012

Erik Heinila/TNT/AP

There seem to be two questions asked by two different sets of people when it comes to tonight’s return to the infamous Southfork ranch of DALLAS fame. Folks who loved the iconic original want to know if the reboot is worthy of the original, and those too young to have watched the classic wonder if they’ll be able to dive into TNT’s version (launching with a two-hour premiere tonight at 9 p.m. ET) without feeling lost.

Happily, the answer to both questions is a resounding yes.

As someone who spent the seemingly endless summer of 1980 wondering who shot J.R. — along with the estimated 83 million people who tuned in on November 21, 1980 to learn that the triggerman had actually been his sister-in-law, Kristen — the thought of a network attempting to reboot DALLAS sent shivers down my spine. It wouldn’t — couldn’t — be the same.